When we are engaged in personal conflict, and in good conscience we feel innocent, and our hearts truly believe we have done all things correctly and in good faith, this does not mean innocence.  There’s more to the story.

“My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me” (1 Cor 4:4)

All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
    but motives are weighed by the Lord”
(Prov 16:2)

The truth is our hearts can deceive us.  We may have a clean conscience according to us, but we also have blind spots, just as others have blind spots.

It is absolutely essential we live with a clean conscience.  To go against our conscience is sin.

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).

It does not mean we do not defend ourselves when we are in conflict either.  We do need to stand where we feel we have done right.

A clean conscience alone is not total innocence.  It is God who knows and judges the heart.  Therefore we must come to conflict with humility.